Ready-to-eat breakfast cereals in flake form have been produced by cereal companies for years. These cereal flakes typically contain cereal grains such as wheat, rice, oats, corn, etc. The cereal flakes also contain a number of ancillary ingredients such as vitamins for fortification, sugars, salts, natural and artificial flavoring agents and other agents such as oils, coloring agents and natural and artificial preservatives. In addition to the ingredients incorporated into the cereal flake itself, other separate ingredients are included with the cereal flake in the cereal product as packaged and sold to the consumer. Examples of such added ingredients include nuts and nut pieces, fruit and fruit pieces, etc. These added ingredients are typically included to impart desirable flavor and texture properties to the packaged cereal product.
However, there are several problems which arise when combining such added ingredients with the cereal flakes in the packaged cereal product. One problem is that the added nuts and nut pieces and fruit and fruit pieces are not uniformly distributed throughout the cereal package. This is due to several factors, the primary factor being that the cereal and added ingredients are typically introduced to the packaged cereal product from separate process streams, and thus tend to remain separate upon packaging. Another source of this non-uniform distribution is unequal settling rates due to the differing densities of the cereal flakes and the added ingredients. The ingredient having the greater density tends to settle faster than the ingredient having the lesser density. This lack of uniform distribution of flakes and added ingredients is undesirable because the cereal product, when consumed, does not provide a uniform taste sensation, which would be preferred. While it may be possible to remedy this separation problem by mechanically manipulating the cereal flakes and added ingredients to achieve greater mixing, such a solution carries the risk of physically damaging the cereal flakes.
The present invention provides a solution to this problem of non-uniform distribution by providing a unique process for preparing a cereal flake wherein the added ingredients are embedded into the flake itself in a substantially uniform manner throughout the flake, and in a preferred mode are also attached to the flake surface. The flake resulting from this process provides a cereal product having a desirable taste and textural profile.
A further benefit of the process of the present invention is that the added ingredients which are embedded into the cereal flake are not subjected to the extreme cooking conditions that the cereal dough itself is subjected to, which can destroy or negatively alter the flavor of certain added ingredients, such as fruit and fruit pieces, flavors, spices, etc.